This happened about three different times while I was going to Michigan State University. One time it was a direct response to a keg ban on campus, once in response to a new city ordinance banning more than 5 unrelated people living together (in a college town, that's a big deal) and the other time it was exuberant parties gone bad (when the Bball team was in the midst of winning the national championship). Each time I think it happened in 3-4 different locations around town and usually involved a couch burning in the road that eventually turned into kids burning whatever was in sight and lobbing frozed 40's at the cops. In one case, they flipped a cop car and set it on fire.
A pretty proud moment in my life, to be a student at Michigan State.
Fortunately enough, it happened a bunch of other times at Purdue, Dave Matthews Band Concerts, and otehr places, which at least took the focus off us...